Animal-trap.



J. OPPBRUD.

ANIMAL TRAP.,

1 APPLmATIoN FILED AUG. 13, 1909 965,318 Patented July 26,1910@ 6233ihwooea I www@ ANIMAL-TRAP.

`Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led August 13, 1909.

Patented July 26, 1910.

Serial No. 512,723.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, JOSEPH OPPERUD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Madison, in the county of Lake, State of South Dakota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Animal-Traps; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to animal traps, and has for one of its objectsto provide a simply constructed trap having no semi-detached parts andwhich may instantly set by simply compressing the striker member at oneend.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructed trapfrom which the trapped animal may be released by the operation ofresetting the trap.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructed trapwherein the force of the striker operating member is adjustable toincrease or decrease its force without making any structural change inthe device.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction as hereafter shown and described and thenspecifically pointed out in the claims, and in the drawings illustrativeof the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinalsectional elevation with the trap in poised or set position. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the parts arranged as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of the improved trap in its sprung or closed position. Fig. 4Lis a transverse section of the base member in section on the line 4-L1of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the striker portion of theimproved device from beneath. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the tripportion of the improved device from beneath. Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview of the base or body portion of the improved device viewed fromabove. Figs. 8 and 9 are detailed views of portions of the improveddevice illustrating modifications in the construction.

rIhe improved device may be constructed wholly of metal, or partly ofmetal and partly of wood or other material, and may e of any requiredsize to trap animals of various species, but is more particularlydesigned for use in trapping mice, and for the purpose of illustration atrap employed for this purpose is shown.

The improved trap comprises a base portion having a fiat bottom 10 andVvertical sides 11-12 spaced apart and with an in-V wardly curvingportion 13 at one end, with the opposite end of the base portion open,as shown in Fig. 7. Formed inthe bottom portion 10 near the open end aretwo spaced clefts and a connecting cleft whereby tongues 14.-15 arereleased and adapted to be bent upwardly in inwardly inclined positions,to form a bait supporting cavity or recess, the bait being thrustupwardly from below and held by the inclined tongues 141-15;

Formed in the side members 11-12 intermediate the ends are openings16-17, to receive4 a holding pin 18, the latter having enlarged heads toprevent its longitudinal displacement. 'Ihe apertures 16 may be open andin bayonet joint form as shown in Fig. 3, or simple apertures as shownat 19 in Fig. 8, and it is not desired therefore to limit the inventionto any specific form for the openings or apertures. When the apertures19 are employed the pin 18 will be rigidly connected through the members11-12, but when the open slots 16-17 are employed the pin will beremovable, as hereafter explained. Y

The trip portion of the improved device comprises a Hat sheet metalplate 2O having upwardlyY extending ears 21-22, and with a relativelylarge aperture 23 near one end, while the opposite end is bent upwardlyas shown at 43. The ears 21-22 are provided with open recesses 24-25 toreceive the pin 18. The trip member 20 eX- tends beneath the pin 18 withthe bent portion L314i adjacent to the upwardly extending terminal 43bearing upon the base 10 and thus forming a fulcrum to the plate 20, ashereafter explained. The striker member of the trap comprises a plate 26having depending side edges 27-28 and one depending end edge 29, whilean extension 30 projects from the opposite end and is inclined relativeto the plate 26, as shown. At its free end the extension 30 is providedwith a recess or cavity 31 and an aperture 32 adjacent to the recess,while the curved terminal 13 of the base member 10 is provided with asimilar recess 33 and an adjacent aperture 34, the object to behereafter explained.

Formed in the side members 27-28 of the striker member are open bayonetjointlike slots 35-36 adapted to engage over the pin 18 between thesides 11-12 of the base member 10 and the ears 21-22 of thertripjmember. By this means the striker member is mounted to rock orswing upon the pin.

The striker member is designed to be actuated by a spring, and thespring comprises a coiled portion 37 and downwardly directed sides38-39. The arm 38 is provided with a terminal hook 40 fitting throughthe aperture 34 and within the recess 33, while the arm 39 yof thespring is provided with a terminal hook 41 tting through the recess 31and the aperture 32 of the striker member. The spring 37-38-39 and thestriker member are so constructed that when the striker member isarranged in its poised position, as shown in Fig. 1, the central line ofthe spring will be located rearwardly of the coil 37, with the pressureapplied to the upwardly directed terminal 43 as shown in Fig. 1. When inposition the trip member is located as before stated with its aperture23 encompassing the bait supporting tongues 14,-15 but not obscuringthem so that the mouse or other animal has free access to the bait. Whenthus arranged when the animal places its weight upon the trip member,the latter is depressed and the extension portion 43 of the trip memberelevated, which movement thrusts the arm 39 o-f the spring forwardly toa sufficient extent to move the hook 41 to a point rearwardly of thecenter of the spring so that the force of the latter is instantlyexerted to maintain the striker member in elevated position. lVth a trapthus constructed, the striker is set by simply depressing the extension30 when the spring will automatically lock the striker member in itselevated position. Then the trap is sprung, as before described, bysimply depressing the trip 20.

At its free ends the corners of the member 30 is bent downwardly asshown at 45-46, to form feet or supports to limit the downward movementof t-he member 30. The terminals of the bent portions 45-46 thus bearupon the base 10 when the trap is in its set position as Shown inFig. 1. The bent portions 45-46 are bendable outwardly or inwardly asrequired, to shorten or len 'then them and thus control the force of thespring. By bending the members 45-46 t outwardly the distance of theportion 41 of the spring from the base 10 is decreased, so that the freeend of the member 2() will be elevated in proportion, and then if themembersf45-46 be bent inwardly the distance between the portion 41 andthe base will be increased and the distance of the free end of themember 20 from the base 10 correspondingly increased.V This adjustmentof the iby spreading the members 45-46 outwardlythey permit the member30 to be moved below an imaginary line between the pin 18 and theterminal 40 of the spring. VIf the portion of the striker is thusarranged to be moved downwardly too far below the imaginary line abovenoted the spring thereby exerts a downward pressure upon it, and thetrap will thus be set too hard, and also require greater weight upon thetrip member to trip it. In such a case all that is required to removesuch objection is to bend the members 45*46 more nearly to aperpendicular position or at right angles to the member 20, so that theybear upon the base 10 in conjunction when the spring end 41 passes theimaginary line above referred to. This is a very important feature ofthe invention, and adds materially to its efficiency and utility, aswhen the striker member with its springend or loop 40 is brought in linebetween the pin 18 and the spring terminal 40 the spring loses its powerto exert any upward pressure upon the striker member, the portion 30then becoming a dead line. In order however, to cause the striker memberto remain set or open, the point 41 must be brought slightly below thisdead line, which is regulated by the bent portions 45-46 as above noted.lVhen the parts are assembled the spring serves to firmly lock and holdthe members together, and effectually prevents displacement so long asthe spring remains coupled to the portions 13 and 30. Vhile the partsare thus firmly supported, they are easily detachable or separable whenrequired by simply detaching the terminal 40 from its aperture 34 andrecess 30.

The striker member 2G is provided with a relatively large aperture 42through which a portion of the body of the animal projects when thestriker is actuated, and thus in-` creases the eectiveness of the blowby providing a relatively narrow portion of the material of the strikerbetween the aperture 42 and the terminal 29 of the same.

The improved device is simple in construction, can be inexpensivelymanufactured, and canbe pressed from sheet metal entirely by machineryif preferred, and thus materially reducing the cost of manufacture. Asbefore stated the base portion 10 of the clip may be of wood or otherlike material, while the remaining parts are of metal, and it is notdesired therefore to limit the invention to the employment of anyspecific material for the parts.

Vhile the form of the portions shown is the preferable one, it will beunderstood that changes may be made in the details of the constructionwithin the scope of the appended claims without departing from theprinciple of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What is claimed is l. An animal trap comprising a base having upturnedsides, a pin extending through said sides, a striker device swingingupon said pin, and provided with an extension projecting at an angle tothe longitudinal plane thereof, a trip device between said striker andbase and with an upturned terminal, and a spring connected at one end tothe base and at the other end to the extension of the striker device,and engaging said upturned terminal of the trip device.

2. An animal trap comprising a base having upturned sides, a pinextending through said sides, a striker device swinging upon said pinand with an extension projecting at an angle to the longitudinal planethereof, a trip device between said striker and base and with anupturned terminal, and a spring formed with an intermediate coil andextending sides, one side connected at one end to the base and at theother end to the extension of the striker device and bearing upon saidupturned terminal.

3. An animal trap comprising a base having upturned sides, a pinextending through said sides, a striker device formed with dependingsides, and arranged to swing upon said pin and with an extensionprojecting at an angle to the longitudinal plane thereof, a trip devicebetween said striker and base aand with an upturned terminal, and aspring formed with an intermediate coil and extending sides, one sideconnected at one end to the base and at the other end to the extensionof the striker device and bearing upon said upturned terminal.

4. In an animal trap, a striker member mounted for oscillation, a tripmember having an upturned terminal, and a spring connected to saidstriker member and likewise engaging said upturned terminal of the tripmember, said spring operating when in one position to maintain thestriker member in elevated position and reversed in position by thedepression of the trip member.

5. In an animal trap, a base, a striker member mounted for oscillationupon said base and formed with an extension projecting at an angle tothe longitudinal plane thereof, said angular portion having downwardlybent terminals to bear upon the base to limit the movement of thestriker and benda-ble laterally to adjust the movement of the same, atrip member having an upturned terminal, and a spring connected to saidstriker member and likewise engaging said upturned terminal of the tripmember, said spring operating when in one position to maintain thestriker member in elevated position and reversed in position by thedepression of the trip member.

6. An animal trap comprising a base having upturned sides, a pinextending through said sides, a striker device swinging upon said pinand provided with an extension projecting at an angle to thelongitudinal plane thereof, the terminals of said angular portion beingbent downwardly to form adjustable supports to limit the movement of thestriker, a trip device between said striker and base and with anupturned terminal, and a spring connected at one end to the base and atthe other end to the extension of the striker device and engaging saidupturned terminal of the trip device.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

JOSEPH OPPERUD,

Witnesses:

D. F. MACKAY, W. A. MAGKAY.

